My Tony Night
I'm sure all of you have been anxiously awaiting my comments on the Tonys, and here they are. Of course, if you were on facebook or Twitter at all this weekend, I'm sure you already know a lot of it. If not, here is the account of the past few days.
I'll start with Saturday night, which was a little ridiculous. Everyone had told me that cast parties turn out like that, but this was the first one that I'd actually been present for. I love you people so much it hurts a little bit. As I told a few people, my plan was to stay up until it was time to go over to the bus stop, though I wasn't totally sure how I was getting there. Fortunately, Richard was still awake and got me to H St and 10th St NW a few minutes before the Megabus picked me up. Naturally, I went to the 2nd story and right to the front, which was an excellent place to sit. I got a couple hours of sleep, but woke up when we got on the Jersey Turnpike. Finally, I saw the New York City skyline in the distance, but, much to my dismay, my phone was about to die so I couldn't get a picture. Once we made it through the Lincoln Tunnel, I was antsy to get off the bus and onto the streets. I texted my friend to let her know I'd arrived and asked how to get to our hotel. Naturally, I got lost and called her from the 23rd Street subway, and naturally, my phone died during the phone call. I perservered and tried to get there myself. After 45 minutes of walking and no sign of the hotel, I gave up and hailed a cab. 15 minutes and $15 later, we pulled up beside the Downtown New York City Marriott, which is down in the Financial District. We stayed on the 33rd floor and had the most absurd views. There are some pictures down below. My apartment could have fit into this suite. The best part? We paid nothing for it. My friend's cousin manages it or something like that, so we got a $1500 per night room for free.
This was my favorite view from the hotel.
There was also a pretty good view from the other window.
Once I got to the hotel, I immdiately went upstairs to find my friends rather desperate as to my whereabouts, since it had been about an hour and half since I'd let them know I was in New York. I explained what happened, and they left to go explore the East Village. As much as I wanted to go with them, I needed a shower and fresh clothes, so I did just that. It was so refreshing. After that, I set out to find a Wachovia (I didn't find one) and then go to Canal Street (I didn't make it). I spent a bit of time wandering Wall Street, then tried a few times to get to Canal Street by subway, but it just didn't work out. Fortunately, I found a suitable bag for the evening just across from the Wall Street subway. On the way back to the hotel, I got a hot dog and a piece of pizza and was perfectly content.
It was about 3pm by this time, and we had to be at Radio City Music Hall no later than 7pm. This gave us a measley three hours to prepare. I curled Michelle's hair and it looked so pretty! We were all quite impressed with me. Michelle tried to do mine, but ended up confessing she'd never used a curling iron on someone else, so Sarah took over. Once we were all dolled up, we headed downstairs and got a cab to Radio City Music Hall. Once we hit Times Square, though, things went badly. The cab driver informed us that the street was closed because of a street fair or some such thing, so we said that we'd go ahead and walk. He said that it wouldn't take long to get around the block, but it was already 635pm, so we got out and walked the 5 blocks. It would have been nice to take the cab all the way, but the cab driver was so sassy that we didn't want to stay.
And then there it was - Radio City Music Hall.
There were hundreds of people milling about, saying hello, looking glamorous. It was so overstimulating and incredible. We made it to our seats just as they were starting the first hour, which was not broadcast. That was when Eric and Maggie accepted the Tony, and when they did all of the creative awards. Laura Benanti is really funny! At 8pm, the show really got started. There was a medley of a bunch of shows that were nominated, including Billy Elliott, Next to Normal, 9 to 5, Rock of Ages, Hair and Shrek. Then Neil Patrick Harris came out and it was awesome. He did a couple of magic tricks during the commercial breaks, when the cast of Million Dollar Quartet (directed by Eric Schaeffer and moving to Broadway soon!) weren't playing songs from the show. I thought most of the performances were quite good. The kid from Billy Elliott mesmerized me. I thought Rock of Ages was SO fun. Hair was AMAZING. Those are 3 shows I definitely want to go and see. However, there were some that didn't thrill me - including Guys and Dolls (except for Mary Testa, who is so fierce), Mamma Mia! which was just a train wreck, and Legally Blonde. There were sound issues throughout the night, but it was only when people were on the center platform that they got too bad.
We were seated in the orchestra, house left, row N. I was one seat in from the aisle, so I got really close to a bunch of people walking down the aisle - people like Elton John, Lauren Graham, Bret Michaels, Neil Patrick Harris, Liza Minelli, and Geoffrey Rush (even talked to him at the end of the show!!!). It was kind of fantastic. Being in the same room as people like Angela Lansbury, Suan Sarandon, Marcia Gay Harden, James Gandolfini... it was insane. We were nowhere near them, but still, it was very, very cool. I loved when Bret Michaels fell on his ass when he walked into the set piece flying in. Alice Ripley's acceptance speech was even more painful in person. People screamed SO loudly anytime Billy Elliott won anything. It was an amazing night all around.
When it was all over, a bunch of us went over to Restaurant Row and ate at the Bourbon Street Bar and Grille. Michelle and I got back to the hotel around 130am, and went to bed almost immediately. We were up at 945am, checked out by 11am, and then got brunch at George's on Rector Street. After a brief foray to Century 21, we headed uptown. I went to the Drama Bookshop for a few hours until I went down to 31st and 8th to catch the bus back to DC. For lunch, I stopped at the Stagedoor Deli, which does not have terribly good food. I made it back into DC around 1030pm and took the metro up to Greenbelt, where![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
droidboy010101 was kind enough to pick me up and get me back to my car. Finally, after a couple of days of not being at home, I ended up in bed around 1am.
And that was my weekend. Sunday was one the best nights of my whole life, and I'm sure I'll remember it for a long time. Hopefully the next time I go it will be because I am nominated for my own Tony!
I'll start with Saturday night, which was a little ridiculous. Everyone had told me that cast parties turn out like that, but this was the first one that I'd actually been present for. I love you people so much it hurts a little bit. As I told a few people, my plan was to stay up until it was time to go over to the bus stop, though I wasn't totally sure how I was getting there. Fortunately, Richard was still awake and got me to H St and 10th St NW a few minutes before the Megabus picked me up. Naturally, I went to the 2nd story and right to the front, which was an excellent place to sit. I got a couple hours of sleep, but woke up when we got on the Jersey Turnpike. Finally, I saw the New York City skyline in the distance, but, much to my dismay, my phone was about to die so I couldn't get a picture. Once we made it through the Lincoln Tunnel, I was antsy to get off the bus and onto the streets. I texted my friend to let her know I'd arrived and asked how to get to our hotel. Naturally, I got lost and called her from the 23rd Street subway, and naturally, my phone died during the phone call. I perservered and tried to get there myself. After 45 minutes of walking and no sign of the hotel, I gave up and hailed a cab. 15 minutes and $15 later, we pulled up beside the Downtown New York City Marriott, which is down in the Financial District. We stayed on the 33rd floor and had the most absurd views. There are some pictures down below. My apartment could have fit into this suite. The best part? We paid nothing for it. My friend's cousin manages it or something like that, so we got a $1500 per night room for free.
This was my favorite view from the hotel. There was also a pretty good view from the other window.Once I got to the hotel, I immdiately went upstairs to find my friends rather desperate as to my whereabouts, since it had been about an hour and half since I'd let them know I was in New York. I explained what happened, and they left to go explore the East Village. As much as I wanted to go with them, I needed a shower and fresh clothes, so I did just that. It was so refreshing. After that, I set out to find a Wachovia (I didn't find one) and then go to Canal Street (I didn't make it). I spent a bit of time wandering Wall Street, then tried a few times to get to Canal Street by subway, but it just didn't work out. Fortunately, I found a suitable bag for the evening just across from the Wall Street subway. On the way back to the hotel, I got a hot dog and a piece of pizza and was perfectly content.
It was about 3pm by this time, and we had to be at Radio City Music Hall no later than 7pm. This gave us a measley three hours to prepare. I curled Michelle's hair and it looked so pretty! We were all quite impressed with me. Michelle tried to do mine, but ended up confessing she'd never used a curling iron on someone else, so Sarah took over. Once we were all dolled up, we headed downstairs and got a cab to Radio City Music Hall. Once we hit Times Square, though, things went badly. The cab driver informed us that the street was closed because of a street fair or some such thing, so we said that we'd go ahead and walk. He said that it wouldn't take long to get around the block, but it was already 635pm, so we got out and walked the 5 blocks. It would have been nice to take the cab all the way, but the cab driver was so sassy that we didn't want to stay.
And then there it was - Radio City Music Hall.
There were hundreds of people milling about, saying hello, looking glamorous. It was so overstimulating and incredible. We made it to our seats just as they were starting the first hour, which was not broadcast. That was when Eric and Maggie accepted the Tony, and when they did all of the creative awards. Laura Benanti is really funny! At 8pm, the show really got started. There was a medley of a bunch of shows that were nominated, including Billy Elliott, Next to Normal, 9 to 5, Rock of Ages, Hair and Shrek. Then Neil Patrick Harris came out and it was awesome. He did a couple of magic tricks during the commercial breaks, when the cast of Million Dollar Quartet (directed by Eric Schaeffer and moving to Broadway soon!) weren't playing songs from the show. I thought most of the performances were quite good. The kid from Billy Elliott mesmerized me. I thought Rock of Ages was SO fun. Hair was AMAZING. Those are 3 shows I definitely want to go and see. However, there were some that didn't thrill me - including Guys and Dolls (except for Mary Testa, who is so fierce), Mamma Mia! which was just a train wreck, and Legally Blonde. There were sound issues throughout the night, but it was only when people were on the center platform that they got too bad.
We were seated in the orchestra, house left, row N. I was one seat in from the aisle, so I got really close to a bunch of people walking down the aisle - people like Elton John, Lauren Graham, Bret Michaels, Neil Patrick Harris, Liza Minelli, and Geoffrey Rush (even talked to him at the end of the show!!!). It was kind of fantastic. Being in the same room as people like Angela Lansbury, Suan Sarandon, Marcia Gay Harden, James Gandolfini... it was insane. We were nowhere near them, but still, it was very, very cool. I loved when Bret Michaels fell on his ass when he walked into the set piece flying in. Alice Ripley's acceptance speech was even more painful in person. People screamed SO loudly anytime Billy Elliott won anything. It was an amazing night all around.
When it was all over, a bunch of us went over to Restaurant Row and ate at the Bourbon Street Bar and Grille. Michelle and I got back to the hotel around 130am, and went to bed almost immediately. We were up at 945am, checked out by 11am, and then got brunch at George's on Rector Street. After a brief foray to Century 21, we headed uptown. I went to the Drama Bookshop for a few hours until I went down to 31st and 8th to catch the bus back to DC. For lunch, I stopped at the Stagedoor Deli, which does not have terribly good food. I made it back into DC around 1030pm and took the metro up to Greenbelt, where
droidboy010101 was kind enough to pick me up and get me back to my car. Finally, after a couple of days of not being at home, I ended up in bed around 1am.And that was my weekend. Sunday was one the best nights of my whole life, and I'm sure I'll remember it for a long time. Hopefully the next time I go it will be because I am nominated for my own Tony!
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